Creating Long-Term Energy Alternatives for the Nation Act of 2007

Floor Speech

CREATING LONG-TERM ENERGY ALTERNATIVES FOR THE NATION ACT OF 2007 -- (Senate - June 18, 2007)

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Mr. SANDERS. Mr. President, I had hoped to call up an amendment that Senator Clinton filed this afternoon on behalf of herself, myself, Senator Leahy, and Senator Cantwell, but I understand that laying aside the pending amendment may not be an option. As such, I ask unanimous consent to be recognized to speak about the amendment we filed.

The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

Mr. SANDERS. Mr. President, as we continue to work our way through the Energy bill, I ask my colleagues for their support in doing everything we possibly can to remove the ridiculous barriers people face when they try to install renewable electricity generation on their homes and businesses. As we all know, there are disagreements about some aspects of our energy policy, but it only seems to make sense to me that we should all rally around giving individuals an opportunity to make a meaningful contribution toward solving our energy challenges. This is exactly what the Clinton-Sanders net metering amendment does. It empowers citizens of our country to help provide for the energy our country needs.

Unfortunately, today, many millions of people want the opportunity to do their part, but they are blocked by unneeded barriers. The language we have authored, which is supported by a wide range of groups, including the Solar Energy Industries Association, Alaska Wilderness League, U.S. PIRG, Greenpeace, Public Citizen, Friends of the Earth, Union of Concerned Scientists, the League of Conservation Voters, and the Center for American Progress Action Fund, would amend the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act to require utilities to offer net metering to their customers and to require the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to establish interconnection standards for small electricity generators to connect to the grid.

The amendment would accomplish many of our shared goals all at once. It would help people to lower their electric bills, it would help to stabilize the electricity grid by ensuring less reliance on central generating plants, it would help to address environmental concerns, and it would even be good for the utilities by cutting down on their load during hot summer days--a load that is usually met with increasingly expensive natural gas.

I want to quickly talk about what net metering is before I go any further, and for the sake of my colleagues who would prefer to hear it directly from the Department of Energy's mouth as opposed to mine, I will quote directly from the DOE's Web site:

Net metering programs serve as an important incentive in consumer investment in renewable energy generation. Net metering enables customers to use their own generation to offset their consumption over a billing period by allowing their electric meters to turn backwards when they generate electricity in excess of their demand.

That is, again, from the DOE's Web site. The Department of Energy goes on to note:

Net metering is a low-cost, easily administered method of encouraging customer investment in renewable energy technologies. It increases the value of the electricity produced by renewable generation and allows customers to bank their energy and use it in a different time than it is produced, giving customers more flexibility and allowing them to maximize the value of their production. Providers, i.e. utilities, may also benefit from net metering because when customers are producing electricity during peak periods, the system load factor is improved.

Again, that is a quote from the Department of Energy. To summarize net metering, let me make the following points: Net metering allows an electricity customer to send electricity back to the grid when generating more than she or he is utilizing. So if you are producing more than you need, it goes back into the grid.

Net metering promotes wider use of renewables, especially at the residential level because credit is given for energy produced. In other words, every homeowner in America can become a producer and earn credit for what they produce.

Net metering advances energy security by helping to stabilize the grid.

Net metering empowers Americans to help meet the Nation's energy needs.

Perhaps an example would make it clearer. Imagine a sunny day and a homeowner's solar photovoltaic panels on the roof are generating more electricity than the homeowner needs to power all of her appliances. Where does the excess electricity go? It flows back through the electric meter, spinning it backwards, and out to the wires on the street and down the street to other homes where it is needed to help run the neighbors' air conditioners and other appliances. This provides more power to the grid just when the grid needs it--on sunny days.

The Clinton-Sanders amendment would provide for a very conservative Federal minimum standard for net metering to encourage more electricity generation from renewables, such as solar panels and other distributed generation technologies. More specifically, the amendment specifies, among other things, that customers shall be credited for excess electricity generation from solar, wind, biomass, geothermal, anaerobic digesters, landfill gas, and fuel cells, up to 2 megawatts. Net metering must be offered to customers until the distributed generation capacity is at least 4 percent of a utility's peak load, and States may adopt more aggressive net metering provisions.

As my colleagues know, many States have moved forward on net metering, and as I have mentioned, our amendment would in no way hamper a State's ability to move forward even more aggressively. Today, 41 States have some sort of net metering standards or programs, but a modest national net metering standard would create a level playing field, encourage greater competition, and accelerate the deployment of solar and other distributed generation technologies.

Vermont passed a net metering law in 1998, and as of July 2006, over 200 Vermont solar projects, wind projects, and methane digesters were feeding electricity into the grid. New Mexico has an aggressive net metering standard in place, as does Colorado, New Jersey, and California.

In closing, as we work to wrap things up this week, I hope we can send a clear message that every single household and business across this country should be given the opportunity to be part of solving our energy challenges. Adoption of the Clinton-Sanders net metering amendment will send such a signal.

Mr. President, I ask that the Clinton amendment be set aside, and I suggest the absence of a quorum.

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